Thomas hampton



T. HAMPTON. COMPOUND INGOT FOR ARMOR PLATES.

Patented Oct. 1, 1895.

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PATENT @Friese snnrrlrlnLD, ENGLAND.

COMPOUND INGOT FOR ARMOR-PLATES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 547,010, dated October 1, 1895.. Applieenen Alea August 15, 189A. seein Ne. 520,399. (Ne metlel.) Patented in England December 8, 1893. No- 23,636-

f'o @ZZ whom, it may concern;

Be it known that I, THOMAS HAMPTON, a subject ot' the Queen of Great Britain, and a resident of Sheffield, in the county of York, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Compound Ingots for .Armor-Plates, (patented to me in Great Britlan by Letters Patent dated December 8, 1893, No. 23,636;) and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specication.

The object of the invention is the production of a compound armor-plate superior to tllose heretofore manufactured, the said plate having a hard face, a soft back, and a lnuch softer intermediate or central part, the said parts being in perfect combination and severally retaining their separate qualities. In order to produce such a compound plate, I first cast an ingot combining the three qualities of steel in layers-namely, a hard quality of special composition, hereinafter termed hard steel, upon one surface, a milder quality, hereinafter termed mild steel,upon the reverse side, and a still milder quality, hereinafter termed soft steel,77 in the center-that is, between the two former. The ingot-mold is arranged horizontally, so that the several layers of steel which compose the ingot may dow to a uniform thickness throughout, and I prefer to cast the hard quality of steel rst, then I cast the soft center layer, and lastly the mild quality for the back.

Figure l of the drawings represents a sectional elevation of a suitable mold, which is the subject-matter ot' a companion specification forming part of an application for patent, tiled July 2l, 1894, Serial No. 518,266. Fig. 2 is a partial plan view of said mold with a portion of its cover in section, and Fig. 3 represents certain mold details hereinafter referred to.

Like letters and numbers refer to like parts in all the figures.

The mold may have a base-plate l separate from its sides and ends, and these may each be made in one piece, as at 2, or built up in sections, as at 2a. The interior of the mold, hereinafter termed the mold-chamber, is provided with a lining of refractory material 3, and the mold is closed at top by a heavy cover, consisting of an under plate or frame 4, a top plate 5, secured together by bolts and cotters 6, said frame 4 being provided with top channels and recesses to receive, respectively, conduit-pipes and conduit-blocks 7 and 8 and spray-nozzles 9, of fire-clay or the like, while the upper plate 5 is provided with a funnel or funnels 10, communicating directly with the mold-chanlber, as in Fig. l, for use in casting said layer of hard steel, and with one or more tunnels l1, preferably at least two, communicating indirectly with the lnoldchalnber by way of said conduits and spraynozzles for use in casting the soft-steel layer upon such layer of hard steel and the mildsteel layer upon such layer of softsteel, said spray-nozzles being distributed over the horizontal area of the mold-chamber, so as thus to distribute the molten steel as it enters the mold-chamber. To permit the escape of gas generated in the mold, the nozzles 9, in addition to their central passages a, Fig. 3, are provided with vertical vent-holes h,Figs. l and 3, which communicate at top with the spaces between the nozzles 9 and the conduit-blocks 8 and around saidconduit-blocks 8 and the conduit-pipes '7, within the channels c, Figs. l and 2, said conduit-blocks and conduit-pipes iitting loosely within said channels, and the lattercommunicating, asin dottedlinesin Fig. 2, with grooves l2, formed in the bottom ofthe top plate 5 and extending to one or more of its edges. The mold is also furnished with gas-escape grooves 13 at the bottom of the cover-plate.

In casting the compound ingot I take care to obtain a perfect combination or junction of the layers of steel without detrimental amalgamation or destruction of their distinctive qualities. By using such mold and pouring the molten steel for the second layer before a crust of oxidation is formed on the first layer and the molten steel for the third before oxidation takes place upon the surface of the second, such perfect combination or cohesion of the layers is insured; and also, by virtue of said spray-nozzles distributed horizontally, as above, any detrimental amalgamation or destruct-ion of the distinctive qualities of the respective layers is avoided in the most simple manner known to me. To pre- IOC vent oxidation a suitable flux may be introduced into the 1noldchamber through one of the funnels 10 and 11 as soon as the first layer is cast, so as to protect its surface and to rise upon the surface of the second -layer when the latteris cast. The steel used may be produced by the processes known as Bessemer, Siemens-l\lartiu; crucible, or other process or combination of processes.

From the experiments and practice I find that the hard-quality steel for the face of the plate should contain carbon, which may vary in quantity from 0.50 to 2.00 per cent.; silicon, 0.02 to 0.15 per cent.; phosphorus and sulphur not to exceed 0.10 per cent., respectively, and manganese 0.25 to 2.00 per cent., with chromium up to ve per cent.

The soft steel should contain carbon, which may vary up to 0.30 per cent.; silicon, up to 0.15 per cent.; phosphorus and sulphur, 0.02 to 0.10 per cent., respectively, and manganese 0.25 to 2.00 per cent.

The mild quality should contain carbon, 0.25 up to 0.50 per cent.; nickel, 0.50 to 5.00 per cent.; silicon, 0.02 to 0.15; sulphur and phosphorus, 0.02 to 0.10 per cent., respectively, and manganese 0.25 to 2.00 per cent. The

ingot so composed and Cast may 'thou be rolled, forged, pressed, or otherwise formed into a plate, and after being bored for bolts and otherwise machined the finished plate may be subjected to a hardening process, if desired.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is- A compound ingot for armor-plates consisting of three layers and distinct qualities of caststeel in perfect cohesion, including a face-layer of hard steel containing a proportion of chromium, a back-layer of mild steel containing a proportion of nickel, and a iniddle layer of soft steel, softer than said backlayer, substantially as hcreinbefore described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have affixed hereto my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 4th day of August, 1801.

'll-l OM AS Il AMPTON.

Vitnesses:

Roer. F. DRURY, ENsoR. D. DRURY. 

